Ricky Ponting and Harbhajan had a history of on-field feuds during their international careers. The Indian spinner was embroiled in a controversy when Andre Symonds alleged that he had called him monkey. Ponting was the Australian skipper at that time and his relationship turned sour with Bhajji after the incident.
However, with the inception of Indian Premier League Ponting and Harbhajan finally became teammates when Mumbai Indians bought the former at his base price Rs 2.10 crore in 2013. The duo played for two season in the Mumbai based franchise before the Aussie bid adieu to cricket and became the head coach of Mumbai Indians in 2014.
During his tenure with the three-time IPL champions, Ponting developed a good relationship with Harbhajan.”Sourav (Ganguly) and I have always got along just fine. We have great respect for one another. We’ve actually interacted a lot since we’ve been retired. We’ve been on cricket committees together and spent a bit of time talking.
“He will be an advisor. He might not have anything to do with us on game day but he will be around the team, around meetings. I’m very, very open to that. He’s been a great leader and player and he’s got great ideas around the game.
“That’s a good part of the IPL, a lot of barriers are broken down between countries and coaches. I’d never have thought that Harbhajan and I could be good mates!,” Ponting told Cricbuzz.